Yep, you read that right. I am outta here! Adios, Caribbean – hello, USA!

Guess what?! Cruising is expensive.

I know a lot of you guys follow our budget posts closely. But for those of you who only read occasionally, or who are new to our adventures, we typically strive to spend approximately $1000USD/month. Or less…

As I’ve tried to clarify (repeatedly) before, I am simply referring to how much we spend each month for groceries, eating/drinking out, small boat repairs and general boat maintenance. This does NOT include large boat repairs, boat payments, boat insurance, etc.

Where did this random sounding budget come from? Well, much like land-life, we choose to live below our means. Our 2 rental homes bring in about $2000/month. When you pay the property manager, landlord insurance policies, and stash away a bit for standard maintenance, that leaves about half for us to live on. And honestly, we are hitting that budget pretty well, waaaaay down here in Grenada. (Much harder to manage in the Bahamas and VI’s!) But we’ve also started to play with around $1200 to $1500 per month, and the increase in the quality of our lives is pretty freaking sweet.

Where is the extra money going?

First, we have been in Grenada since early June. In island terms, it’s a fairly large island. And the most protected anchorages are not particularly convenient to the main city of St. George’s, thus not convenient to groceries, restaurants, etc. Luckily, as we arrived so early in the hurricane season, we were able to score a sweet deal on a monthly scooter rental. For 400ec/month ($150us) we have complete freedom to explore this glorious island. (The scooter rental recently went up to 600ec/224US, and because we are not willing to give up the scooter, we have had to accept the price increase. Even though we agreed to 400 per month for the entire hurricane season. 😒 But I digress…)

We are also enjoying eating out more, lavishing ourselves with the available fresh veggies and fruits – and probably too many visits to the local craft brewery. And let’s not forget tours to waterfalls, chocolate/rum factories and just random explorations.

While I try to be pretty transparent, I found multiple people (including some of our blog-followers-turned-cruisers) that have been surprised by just how expensive this can be. So what’s the source of this response? Pretty much 100% of the time, it’s boat repairs.

Do you own a land home? If so, you know there is much more to home ownership than just the mortgage payment. Now pick that home up and plop it in salt water. And then move it around. Things corrode. Solar panels fail. Seals break. Sails blow out. And when you’re on an island, you (much like me and my scooter) are required to pay whatever it takes to get your shit working again.

Our “Oh Shit” Budget

While I’ve been very clear about our regular budget, maybe I need to clarify about where this money magically comes from. Wait for it… Savings.

It took 6 years to finally implement our sailing plans.  In large part, that is because we were busy Saving. Money.

I was pretty adamant that I wanted a safety blanket – 1 specific savings account that is purely for boat repairs/emergencies. (We have other savings that we don’t touch.) Or, if we hated this lifestyle (HA!) we would have the cash available to get back to the States and set up again for work. We somewhat arbitrarily set that savings account level at $30,000. If we lose our engine? No problem. We can rebuild/repower Luna Sea. Need new rigging? Painful, but also no problem. Need to fly back to the States for an emergency? Can do.

Our original plan was to keep on sailing until we spent that original money, and then hopefully we’d have plans in place to work “Out Here.” I went to culinary school so that I can confidently work as a chef on charter boats. Mark has his SCUBA dive master cert, and can get his instructors cert to work on dive boats.  Or get his Captain’s License and deliver boats.  But is that what we’re doing? Of course not.

Plans Always Change

We are technically only about half way thru our Emergency Fund. We’ve been out for 2 years so far, and have had several unexpected upgrades and purchases. Those seem to be tapering off, so theoretically we have at least 2 more years of sailing without choosing to work. But the Universe works in mysterious ways.  And when something falls into your lap, you just embrace it. (Unless it’s like, a skunk or something…)

Data Management

Ironically, even with my culinary experience and fitness training, I’m getting back into Data Management. What?!? Me. The Excel Guru who has sworn to poke her eyes out if she ever has to sit in another cubicle, is taking a Data Management position! I’m still a little surprised myself…  But also, pretty stoked.

Remote Work

So here’s the deal. I get to work remotely. Want to hunker down at the local marina/bar/restaurant and stare at the ocean while I work? No problemo! As long as I have internet access (which is honestly an adventure in itself…) I can work. No cubicles. No set hours. (Yes, a set minimum of hours to complete, but no set schedule) I will be able to double our budget, do something I’m pretty freaking good at, and STILL TRAVEL THE WORLD. Just a bit more luxuriously. Hello mooring balls at fancy resorts! St. Lucia – we are coming for YOU!

What’s Next?

So here I sit, in the Trinidad Airport. For 12 more hours… Then I hop on a plane for Houston. And then OKC. 25 hours after leaving Grenada, I will finally land in OKC where I’ll be training for the next 5 weeks. (FIVE WEEKS!) I’ve never been off the boat that long, since we purchased her 5 years ago. And I’ve never been away from Mark for more than 2.5 weeks – in the past TWENTY FIVE YEARS. So weird.

So here we go. Off on a new adventure. Back to work, but I can take it with me. Earning money while still traveling is very intriguing to me… (Thanks to Kevin on SailingtheKraken for his unknown and repeated inspiration to make this happen!) Doing something I’m good at to pay for something I love? Count me in!

I will land in OKC tomorrow. And immediately head to the office to begin training. Then this weekend? I START FIRE DANCING!!! But that’s another story altogether…  🔥

EDIT:  Find Part 2 of my story of the States here.

About Author

Jennifer

Artist, food nerd, SUP/yoga enthusiast and travel obsessed blogger – chronicling the process of going from land to sea. Selling all of her worldly possessions so that she can set sail into the sunset with her husband and two dachshunds – searching for that next sunrise paddle. Follow along. It’ll be fun 🙂

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